The company reports a 20 per cent increase in orders across both sectors for the first six months of this year. Within the poultry industry, the growth has been mainly in the organic layer sector. For pigs, the demand has been for grower and finishing houses with producers looking to improve efficiency which modern, well-designed buildings can deliver. High feed prices have given this extra impetus.

“We were very busy last year, so this jump in orders on the back of a good 12-months’ trading is seen as significant,” said Mike McLaughlin, ARM’s managing director.

“The strength of the Euro has helped by making foreign-made poultry houses less competitive and this has also encouraged growth in exports to the Republic of Ireland.”